Israel to White House: "We’re Concerned About Hamas Disarmament Plan"

The AP and Reuters reported Sunday evening that the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an unequivocal message to the White House regarding the disarmament agreement allegedly signed with Hamas and other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.

Israel shared "serious security concerns" with the White House about the disarmament agreement. It should be noted that although U.S. officials announced their opposition to Israel continuing its targeted killings in Gaza, the IDF carried out more than 10 strikes over the past day. Palestinians reported at least 20 people killed.

According to the foreign news agencies’ report, Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, said that Israel’s intelligence assessment is that Hamas remains committed to rebuilding its army, rather than genuinely disarming. He said the Israeli military will not withdraw from Gaza—where it controls more than 60% of the territory—before Hamas disarms.

"Our assessment is that if we redeploy before Hamas is genuinely disarmed, it will quickly expand its presence throughout Gaza, rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, once again threaten Israeli communities, and seek to carry out another October 7-style attack," he said, referring to Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.

As noted, Spielman’s remarks come days after Hamas said it would begin disarming as part of the U.S.-mediated ceasefire signed nine months ago. Today, Islamic Jihad also announced its intention to disarm. However, both organizations emphasized that this involves storing weapons in warehouses, rather than transferring them to Israel or a third party.